Singer Jenny Lewis has credited the recording of her new album with pulling her through "one of the most difficult periods" of her life, after suffering a meltdown following the break-up of her cult band Rilo Kiley and the death of her estranged father. The star recruited rocker Ryan Adams and his musician pal Mike Viola to help her complete The Voyager, her first solo album in six years, and she admits channelling her pain and emotions into her songs proved to be the therapy she desperately needed.
She tells RollingStone.com, "Making The Voyager got me through one of the most difficult periods of my life.
"After Rilo Kiley broke up and a few really intense personal things happened, I completely melted down. It nearly destroyed me. I had such severe insomnia that, at one point, I didn't sleep for five straight nights. Many of the songs on The Voyager came out of the need to occupy my mind in the moments when I just couldn't shut down...
"This record was the hardest one I ever made. The Voyager tells that story: the longest night of my life and the journey to finally getting some rest."
Lewis lost her dad at the end of 2010 and disbanded Rilo Kiley the following year (11).

It's a movie about movies — how meta. In the trailer (via Indie Wire) for director Chuck Workman's new documentary/visual essay What is Cinema?, the filmmaker attempts to take a closer look at the mastery of cinematic form through the compilation of over 100 film clips and interviews.
In the film, Academy Award-winning Workman (Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol) not only asks the titular question, but aims to chronicle "the best of filmmaking today and proposes where cinema will go, and should go, in the future," according to the film's synopsis. Workman's interview subjects include the likes of Mike Leigh, Jonas Mekas, Yvonne Rainer, David Lynch, video artist Bill Viola, Kelly Reichardt, Costa-Gavras, Ken Jacobs, and Michael Moore. He also includes special archival interviews with Robert Bresson, Alfred Hitchock, Chantal Akerman, Akira Kurosawa, and others.
TIFF
The trailer forces us to take a step back from the copious amount of films that are produced each year and really think about what a film truly is. In one of the many interviews, esteemed director David Lynch answers the question best when he poetically says: "It's so beautiful, cinema. It comes in a spark and you see it and you feel it and you hear it. It's so delicate, but if you get into that world, it can be like a dream." We have a feeling that this whole documentary will be a walk through hundreds of awesome dreams.
What is Cinema? premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and will next appear at DOC NYC on Nov. 19th.
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David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas consists of six stories set in various periods between 1850 and a time far into Earth's post-apocalyptic future. Each segment lives on its own the previous first person account picked up and read by a character in its successor creating connective tissue between each moment in time. The various stories remain intact for Tom Tykwer's (Run Lola Run) Lana Wachowski's and Andy Wachowski's (The Matrix) film adaptation which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The massive change comes from the interweaving of the book's parts into one three-hour saga — a move that elevates the material and transforms Cloud Atlas in to a work of epic proportions.
Don't be turned off by the runtime — Cloud Atlas moves at lightning pace as it cuts back and forth between its various threads: an American notary sailing the Pacific; a budding musician tasked with transcribing the hummings of an accomplished 1930's composer; a '70s-era investigatory journalist who uncovers a nefarious plot tied to the local nuclear power plant; a book publisher in 2012 who goes on the run from gangsters only to be incarcerated in a nursing home; Sonmi~451 a clone in Neo Seoul who takes on the oppressive government that enslaves her; and a primitive human from the future who teams with one of the few remaining technologically-advanced Earthlings in order to survive. Dense but so was the unfamiliar world of The Matrix. Cloud Atlas has more moving parts than the Wachowskis' seminal sci-fi flick but with additional ambition to boot. Every second is a sight to behold.
The members of the directing trio are known for their visual prowess but Cloud Atlas is a movie about juxtaposition. The art of editing is normally a seamless one — unless someone is really into the craft the cutting of a film is rarely a post-viewing talking point — but Cloud Atlas turns the editor into one of the cast members an obvious player who ties the film together with brilliant cross-cutting and overlapping dialogue. Timothy Cavendish the elderly publisher could be musing on his need to escape and the film will wander to the events of Sonmi~451 or the tortured music apprentice Robert Frobisher also feeling the impulse to run. The details of each world seep into one another but the real joy comes from watching each carefully selected scene fall into place. You never feel lost in Cloud Atlas even when Tykwer and the Wachowskis have infused three action sequences — a gritty car chase in the '70s a kinetic chase through Neo Seoul and a foot race through the forests of future millennia — into one extended set piece. This is a unified film with distinct parts echoing the themes of human interconnectivity.
The biggest treat is watching Cloud Atlas' ensemble tackle the diverse array of characters sprinkled into the stories. No film in recent memory has afforded a cast this type of opportunity yet another form of juxtaposition that wows. Within a few seconds Tom Hanks will go from near-neanderthal to British gangster to wily 19th century doctor. Halle Berry Hugh Grant Jim Sturgess Jim Broadbent Ben Whishaw Hugo Weaving and Susan Sarandon play the same game taking on roles of different sexes races and the like. (Weaving as an evil nurse returning to his Priscilla Queen of the Desert cross-dressing roots is mind-blowing.) The cast's dedication to inhabiting their roles on every level helps us quickly understand the worlds. We know it's Halle Berry behind the fair skinned wife of the lunatic composer but she's never playing Halle Berry. Even when the actors are playing variations on themselves they're glowing with the film's overall epic feel. Jim Broadbent's wickedly funny modern segment a Tykwer creation that packs a particularly German sense of humor is on a smaller scale than the rest of the film but the actor never dials it down. Every story character and scene in Cloud Atlas commits to a style. That diversity keeps the swirling maelstrom of a movie in check.
Cloud Atlas poses big questions without losing track of its human element the characters at the heart of each story. A slower moment or two may have helped the Wachowskis' and Tykwer's film to hit a powerful emotional chord but the finished product still proves mainstream movies can ask questions while laying over explosive action scenes. This year there won't be a bigger movie in terms of scope in terms of ideas and in terms of heart than Cloud Atlas.
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There's an allure to imperfection. With his latest drama Lawless director John Hillcoat taps directly into the side of human nature that draws us to it. Hillcoat finds it in Prohibition history a time when the regulations of alcohol consumption were subverted by most of the population; He finds it in the rural landscapes of Virginia: dingy raw and mesmerizing. And most importantly he finds it in his main character Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) the scrappy third brother of a moonshining family who is desperate to prove his worth. Jack forcefully injects himself into the family business only to discover there's an underbelly to the underbelly. Lawless is a beautiful film that's violent as hell striking in a way only unfiltered Americana could be.
Acting as the driver for his two outlaw brothers Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) isn't enough for Jack. He's enticed by the power of the gangster figure and entranced by what moonshine money can buy. So like any fledgling entrepreneur Jack takes matters into his own hands. Recruiting crippled family friend/distillery mastermind Cricket (Dane DeHaan) the young whippersnapper sets out to brew his own batch sell it to top dog Floyd Banner and make the family rich. The plan works — but it puts the Bondurant boys in over their heads with a new threat: the corrupt law enforcers of Chicago.
Unlike many stories of crime life Lawless isn't about escalation. The movie drifts back and forth leisurely popping in moments like the beats of a great TV episode. One second the Bondurants could be talking shop with their female shopkeep Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain). The next Forrest is beating the bloody pulp out of a cop blackmailing their operation. The plot isn't thick; Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave preferring to bask in the landscapes the quiet moments the haunting terror that comes with a life on the other side of the tracks. A feature film doesn't offer enough time for Lawless to build — it recalls cinema-level TV currently playing on outlets like HBO and AMC that have truly spoiled us — but what the duo accomplish is engrossing.
Accompanying the glowing visuals and Cave's knockout workout on the music side (a toe-tapping mix of spirituals bluegrass and the writer/musician's spine-tingling violin) are muted performances from some of Hollywood's rising stars. Despite LaBeouf's off-screen antics he lights up Lawless and nails the in-deep whippersnapper. His playful relationship with a local religious girl (Mia Wasikowska) solidifies him as a leading man but like everything in the movie you want more. Tom Hardy is one of the few performers who can "uurrr" and "mmmnerm" his way through a scene and come out on top. His greatest sparring partner isn't a hulking thug but Chastain who brings out the heart of the impenetrable beast. The real gem of Lawless is Guy Pearce as the Bondurant trio's biggest threat. Shaved eyebrows pristine city clothes and a temper like a rabid wolverine Pearce's Charlie Rakes is the most frightening villain of 2012. He viciously chews up every moment he's on screen. That's even before he starts drawing blood.
Lawless is the perfect movie for the late August haze — not quite the Oscary prestige picture or the summertime shoot-'em-up. It's drama that has its moonshine and swigs it too. Just don't drink too much.
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The trailers for Hope Springs might lead you to believe it's a romantic comedy about a couple trying to jumpstart their sexless marriage but it causes more empathetic cringing than chuckles. Audiences will be drawn to Hope Springs by its stars Meryl Streep Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell and Streep's track record of pleasing summer movies like Julie &amp; Julia and Mamma Mia! that offer a respite from the blockbusters flooding theaters. Despite what its marketing might have you believe Hope Springs isn't a rom-com. The film is a disarming mixture of deeply intimate confessions by a married couple in the sanctuary of a therapist's office awkwardly honest attempts by that couple to physically reconnect and incredibly sappy scenes underscored by intrusive music. Boldly addressing female desire especially in older women it's hard not to give the movie extra credit for what writer Vanessa Taylor's script is trying to convey and its rarity in mainstream film. The ebb and flow of intimacy and desire in a long-term relationship is what drives Hope Springs and while there are plenty contrived moments and unresolved issues it is frankly surprising and surprisingly frank. It's a summer release from a major studio with high caliber stars aimed squarely at the generally underserved 50+ audience addressing the even more taboo topic of that audience's sex life.
Streep plays Kay a suburban wife who's deeply unsatisfied emotionally and sexually by her marriage to Arnold. Arnold who is played by Tommy Lee Jones as his craggiest sleeps in a separate bedroom now that their kids have left the nest; he's like a stone cold robot emotionally and physically and Kay tiptoes around trying to make him happy even as he ignores her every gesture. One of the most striking scenes in the movie is at the very beginning when Kay primps and fusses over her modest sleepwear in the hopes of seducing her husband. Streep makes it obvious that this isn't an easy thing for Kay; it takes all her guts to try and wordlessly suggest sex to her husband and when she's shot down it hurts to watch. This isn't a one time disconnect between their libidos; this is an ongoing problem that leaves Kay feeling insecure and undesirable.
After a foray into the self-help section of her bookstore Kay finds a therapist who holds week-long intensive couples' therapy sessions in Good Hope Springs ME and in a seemingly unprecedented moment of decisiveness she books a trip for the couple. Arnold of course is having none of it but he eventually comes along for the ride. That doesn't mean he's up for answering any of Dr. Feld's questions though. To be fair Dr. Feld (Carell) is asking the couple deeply intimate questions so if Arnold is comfortable foisting his amorous wife off with the excuse he had pork for lunch it's not so far-fetched to believe he'd be angry when Feld asks him about his fantasy life or masturbation habits.
Although Arnold gets a pass on some of his issues Kay is forthright about why and how she's dissatisfied. When Dr. Feld asks her if she masturbates she says she doesn't because it makes her too sad. Kay offers similar revelations; she's willing to bare it all to revive her marriage while Arnold thinks the fact that they're married at all means they must be happy. Carell's Dr. Feld is soothing and kind (even a bit bland) but it's always a pleasure to see him play it straight.
It's subversive for a mega-watt star to play a character that talks about how sexually unsatisfied she is and how unsexy she feels with the man she loves most in the world. The added taboo of Kay and Arnold's age adds that much more to the conversation. Kay and Arnold's attempts at intimacy are emotionally raw and hard to watch. Even when things get funny they're mostly awkward funny not ha-ha funny.
The rest of the movie is a little uneven wrapped up tightly and happily by the end. Their time spent soul-searching alone is a little cheesy especially when Kay ends up in a local bar where she gets a little dizzy on white wine while dishing about her problems to the bartender (Elisabeth Shue). Somewhere along the line what probably started out as a character study ended up as a wobbly drama that pushes some boundaries but eventually lets everyone off the emotional hook in favor of a smoothed-over happy ending. Still its disarming moments and performances almost balance it out. Although its target audience might be dismayed to find it's not as light-hearted as it would seem Hope Springs offers up the opportunity for discussion about sexuality and aging at a time when books and films like 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike are perking up similar conversations. In the end that's a good thing.

Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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The movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's bestselling book of the same name was crowned Outstanding Motion Picture, seeing off competition from Pariah, Tower Heist, Jumping the Broom and The First Grader.
Viola Davis scooped the Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture prize, while her co-star Octavia Spencer was presented with the Outstanding Supporting Actress award at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) ceremony in Los Angeles.
Jumping the Broom's stars were also honoured - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture went to Laz Alonso, while Mike Epps was named Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Salim Akil won Best Director for the comedy.
Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, was named the Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture and George Lucas was presented with the special Vanguard Award.
He was given a standing ovation at the Shrine Auditorium as Samuel L. Jackson handed over the trophy, in recognition of his career, including recent film Red Tails, which was produced by his Lucasfilm company.
TV award winners included Tyler Perry's House of Payne (Outstanding Comedy Series), L.L. Cool J (Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for NCIS: Los Angeles) and Nick Cannon (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Up All Night).
In the music categories, Jennifer Hudson, who performed with Ne-Yo during the ceremony, landed the Outstanding Album prize for I Remember Me, while soul singer Jill Scott was named Outstanding Female Artist. Outstanding Male Artist went to Cee Lo Green.
The ceremony took on a sombre tone when late singer Whitney Houston was remembered.
Video clips of the singer, who died last Saturday (11Feb12), were shown, and Yolanda Adams sang I Love the Lord from Houston's film The Preacher's Wife.
Presenter Sanaa Latham asked the audience to remember Houston as "a loving mother and extraordinary performer".
The show closed with Best Gospel Album winner Kirk Franklin singing Houston's 1986 hit The Greatest Love of All.

After nearly a decade, last year we watched as House and Cuddy finally got together during Season Seven of House—and that turned out so well. Don’t bite the apple, Eve. This unholy union is what Tamala Jones, who plays Lanie on Castle desperately wants to avoid between Richard Castle and Kate Beckett. We recently chatted it up with this sweeter-than-life actress about the upcoming episode “The Blue Butterfly,” a 1940's film noir type episode with our dynamic duo thrust back in time to solve another riveting case. Gangsters, Castle and Tamala, what else could you ask for on a Monday night? (Don’t answer that).
Do you think it’s time for Castle and Beckett to finally hook up? I don’t think it’s time to hook them up. I think that both of them have some deep-rooted issues they need to work through. No, I think it will really ruin the whole mystic if you do it, honestly. Keep them chasing that moment. So tell us about “The Blue Butterfly.” This episode is amazing. I can say, it’s my favorite by far. This episode is when Castle and Beckett are investigating the killing of a treasure hunter that actually is linked to a mysterious homicide that happens in 1947. So, Castle figures the way to solve that particular treasure hunter’s murder is to go back and solve the other murder form the past. The flash back scenes are—oh my God—amazing! Your 1940's alter ego is a singer? Do you have a lyrical background? Her name is Betsy and she is a chanteuse. She is the best friend of Dempsey, the gangster’s girlfriend. She sings, she’s wonderful.. I discovered through this episode that I have a lyrical background [laughs]...I really never sang anywhere else except the shower and the car but they told me it was a Billie Holiday kind of song I’d be singing and I love Billie Holiday...ask me to do Aretha Franklin or Patti Labelle and that would have been trouble, Billie Holiday I can do [laughs]. What can we expect the rest of the season on Castle, any reconciliation with Esposito? I hope so, I felt like it looked like we would be in Ryan’s wedding episode but I don’t know. Those guys are real secretive in that writer’s room...so we’ll have to see. You play a medical examiner, any experience with that until now? Oh my God, it was so hard. I can tell you this season is the season I am the most comfortable playing Lanie and spewing those medical terms out. I am very grateful to the cast I work with because they have been extremely supportive and patient with me throughout the time that I wasn’t so comfortable. Mark Pellegrino guest stars tonight. He’s coming off LOST playing a key role in Jacob. He plays this bad gangster Tom Dempsey...The man is an amazing talent. I am a huge fan of his. I didn’t have any dialogue with him in “The Blue Butterfly,” but I was in scenes that he was there, and he’s just so strong, so handsome and so mean, but mysteriously mean. Other than Castle what are some of your favorite shows? I love Game of Thrones, I love True Blood and I love Boardwalk Empire...I love Dancing with the Stars, that’s one of my favorite reality-type shows to watch.. I love to dance and it just looks like they are having so much fun. The Oscar nominees just came out, who are some of your favorites? I hope that Octavia Spencer wins an Oscar as well as Viola Davis, but Octavia because we worked together in Blue Streak, she played my cousin and I’ve known her for years. I’m just so proud of her. And of course Meryl Streep. That’s my girl! Check out all your Castle dish at ABC. “The Blue Butterfly” airs tonight at 10 p.m. EST on ABC. You can find Mike Rothman on Twitter @TheRealRothman.